


Under the Surface

by tripletvo



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: F/M, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Post-Break Up, Teenage Drama, attempting to bridge Digimon 02 with the epilogue, friendship fic, the kids go back to summer camp, to figure out their future careers, written pre-Digimon tri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:16:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23316751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tripletvo/pseuds/tripletvo
Summary: All it took was for him to look at her. Just once. And like that, Sora's willpower would evaporate into thin air, leaving her completely vulnerable to Yamato again. Even after everything that had happened between them, Sora still cared for him.
Relationships: Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida & Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida/Takenouchi Sora, Izumi Koushirou | Izzy Izumi & Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Takenouchi Sora & Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya
Kudos: 5





	Under the Surface

"Are you done yet?"

Taichi leaned close, obstructing Yamato's view of his cast iron skillet. While another person might have felt uncomfortable with Taichi's blatant disregard for personal space – especially considering their proximity to an open flame – Yamato merely nudged his best friend away with a gentle elbow. "Not quite," Yamato answered. He turned the gas dial up. "Be patient."

Taichi grumbled. "This better be worth the wait."

Yamato slid a few cuts of beef onto the skillet and they sizzled. "Sit down. The steak will be done on its own time whether you keep pacing or not."

"Sit down where? The last time you cleaned, the dinos still stomped around the earth. I'll need a shovel to excavate a chair."

Yamato aimed his chopsticks at Taichi's head, who gamely feinted to the side. "For your information, we’ve been busy lately. The station's changing management and the summer music festival is coming up.” Yamato frowned. “Besides, you're one to talk. When was the last time you cleaned your room?"

Taichi was quick to move on the defensive. "At least I keep my mess in my room. I don't leave crap all over the living room like you do – "

"Only because your mom threatened to disown you if you did otherwise." 

With as much dignity as he could manage, Taichi leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. "I hate you."

"You say that now, but you'll be singing your praises once you eat this."

"Yeah, I know. Damn you and your delicious food, Ishida. It's the only reason we're still friends."

Yamato grinned before changing the subject. He took a breath. "So… do you know when Sora's coming?" he asked evenly.

Taichi boosted himself up so he could sit on the counter. "Nope. She said that she needed to go somewhere after practice, but I dunno how long it'll take her. She _did_ say that we should start eating without her if she's too late. So if you're taking a long time with dinner because you're waiting for her…" He trailed off and waggled his eyebrows.

"You're a pig."

"Shut up, you can eat just as much as I can. You kept up when we went to the buffet last time."

"Just because I _can_ eat as much as you doesn't mean that I always _do_. I know how to restrain myself; you don't. I'm not a pig, and you are."

"I have a healthy appetite, that's all!" 

"I wouldn't call it that. It's downright alarming to watch you eat."

He shrugged. "What do you expect? I'm an athlete. I need lots of food to keep me fueled."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Yamato's attention moved to his dinner preparations, and he turned the beef filets over. "Nearly there."

"Awesome." Taichi coughed. "By the way."

Yamato moved to the sink to wash his hands. "What's up?"

"What's the special occasion for dinner today? It's been awhile since… "

He could feel the weight of Taichi's eyes on him, and Yamato took his time drying his hands. "Sora caught me before school today and asked if I wouldn’t mind hosting dinner at my place." He checked the noodles next. "She was kind of vague on why, but I offered to cook."

"Oh. I thought you and Sora – " Taichi stopped. “I was hoping maybe... well. You know.” 

Yamato didn’t answer. But he _did_ know. 

To the shock of their mutual friends, Yamato and Sora had ended their relationship several months prior after nearly a year and a half of dating. Although Yamato wished he could say they called things off amicably, the breakup left them both with wounds. Their old friendship seemed damaged beyond repair as a result. 

At first, the other Chosen Children and their Digimon partners left the two alone after news of the breakup filtered to them. Gabumon tentatively suggested Yamato try to rebuild a friendship with Sora a few weeks after the break up, but Yamato wasn’t ready to hear it. Gabumon left it alone after that - at least, as far as Yamato knew at the time. It wasn’t until later on Yamato learned Gabumon had quietly followed up his reconciliation efforts by enlisting Takeru, Taichi, Jyou, and even Hiroaki’s help in talking to Yamato.

It took several weeks further of coaxing before Yamato and Sora agreed to try and put the past behind them. It was easier said than done, however: their wounds, though no longer fresh, weren’t quite yet scars. There were still things that neither one of them had quite forgotten, things which made a foundation for friendship unstable. 

But the hardest obstacle – conquering the ill feelings they used to harbor toward each other – had passed. Now, it was a matter of figuring out what kind of form their new friendship would take, one careful step at a time.

It was inevitable that once he and Sora agreed to rebuild their friendship, the rest of the Chosen began to presume an attempt to rebuild their _relationship_ was bound to follow. Yamato knew his friends meant well and did his best to bear their unsubtle hints. It didn’t mean he had to acknowledge Taichi’s unspoken question, though.

A knock on the door saved Yamato from having to endure a deeper interrogation. "That's Sora. Dad's not coming home until later."

Taichi hopped off the counter. "I'll get it. You finish cooking those steaks already!" he called over his shoulder as he went.

Yamato snorted to himself but obligingly checked on the beef. While he turned off the heat to let the steaks rest, he couldn't help overhear Taichi and Sora's enthusiastic greeting from the hallway. He paused altogether when the sound of their easy laughter echoed.

He took a deep breath, gathering himself.

Heavy footsteps preceded their return to the kitchen. "Sora smells gross," Taichi announced. "You’d better plug your nose if she stands too close."

Yamato turned in time to see a flushing Sora punch Taichi’s shoulder hard enough to make him yelp. "Don't be such a jerk." She smiled at Yamato. "Sorry I'm late. I got here as fast as I could."

"It’s okay." Yamato smiled slightly back at her. "If you stink, it isn't strong enough for me to smell it. No worries."

She rolled her eyes. "Obviously, Taichi's never thought to smell himself after his own practices." Her voice couldn’t possibly be drier. "He makes me smell perfumed in comparison."

"Hey! What are you trying to say?" Taichi puffed up in a way reminiscent of a chicken. "Is there something wrong with my body odor to you? I'll have you know," he continued before Sora could reply, "that my musk drives all the girls at school wild - I get swarmed every time I walk out of the locker room!"

“Your _musk_? Seriously?”

Grinning at their subsequent bickering, Yamato turned around and checked the steaks again. Perfect. “We’re ready to eat,” he announced. He transferred the food to serving plates. “Grab your utensils, they’re all in the dishwasher."

"Sure," Sora agreed immediately. "But…"

"Hmm?"

"You have a lot of… stuff. On your table."

Taichi snorted. "Is there a table underneath all that? I'm not so sure."

Yamato felt heat in his cheeks. "Sorry I didn’t get a chance to clean.”

“No, it’s fine,” Sora said earnestly. “I know I sprung the idea of dinner on you last minute.”

He cleared his throat. “We could shift most of that stuff to the floor? I'll clean it up later."

Taichi sighed heavily. “This is not what I had in mind when you told me we were going to have a dinner party.”

Yamato narrowed his eyes. "If you keep complaining about how much I need to clean up, I'll give your dinner to Gabumon. At least he doesn't mind when I make the effort to cook a meal for him."

"Fine, fine!" Taichi moved a pile of magazines to the floor before holding his hands up in surrender. "But the only reason why I was complaining in the first place was because I didn't want to make a lady like Sora sit on the floor to eat her dinner. That's not a very good display of manners to a houseguest, you know."

"Oh, so now I'm a lady?" Sora's tone was pointed, but good-naturedly so. "What happened to my smelling bad?"

"Well, ladies can stink too."

Exasperated, she began, "Yagami – "

"All done, Yamato!" Taichi proclaimed loudly over Sora’s voice. He hurried over to Yamato's side. "Want me to carry the dishes out? Wow, that smells totally mouthwatering. Can I bring you to university with me? I'll let you have half of my room and everything in exchange for being my personal chef."

"If you want me to be your personal chef, I'm going to need a lot more than just half your space as payment," said Yamato.

“Like what? I’m willing to negotiate.”

Sora interjected, "Stop being such a nuisance, Taichi, and carry the plates like you offered. You'll have no one to blame but yourself if the food gets cold."

"Oh. Right. The lady has a point. Eat first, negotiate payment later.” He paused and asked Yamato slyly, “So do you need a bed, or will a sleeping bag be enough for you?"

Yamato pressed a plate into Taichi's waiting hands. "Taichi? For the hundredth time, please shut up."

"We're only up to a hundred?" Sora commented mildly as she set out the utensils. "When did you start counting? That seems incredibly low."

"Only since he came over after school."

"Mmm, okay. _That_ makes sense."

Taichi sniffed dramatically as he carried over another plate. "I hate you guys and I'm going to start eating without you."

Yamato joined them at the table with his own plate. He shook his head. "Go ahead. If you get a head start, maybe we'll all finish satisfying our appetites at the same time."

Sora laughed. "If you wanted us to all finish at the same time, you probably should have given him a half-hour head start, not just a few minutes."

"Hey!" Taichi frowned around a mouthful of noodles. “I resent that.”

“Yes, well, I resent your table manners. How many times do I have to remind you not to talk with your mouth full?"

"Not that it matters." Yamato raised his eyes heavenward. “It won’t do any good.”

Taichi kicked him under the table. Yamato winced and managed to retaliate with a decent shot at Taichi’s calf before Sora rapped her fork against her plate. "Guys? No physical violence at the dinner table, please."

"Yes ma'am," they chorused innocently.

The meal ended up being a fun one. The food turned out good, to Yamato’s relief (or at least, until it encouraged Taichi to redouble his efforts in recruiting Yamato as a personal chef) and the conversation flowed easily. For a majority of the time, they discussed the events in the Digital World and how their classes were progressing. It wasn't until after they finished eating and were relaxing that, during a lull in the conversation, Taichi began significantly, "So, Sora.” 

She glanced at him in amusement. “Yes, Taichi.”

“You never did mention why you wanted us to eat dinner together tonight."

"Oh, I forgot all about that – hold on." Sora reached underneath the table for her backpack. She rummaged through it and pulled out a couple of colorful brochures. "Have you seen these? Let’s do it this summer!"

Yamato took one and read, brandished across the top of the glossy page, “ _Camp Odake_ : _An Adventure for Bright Beginnings!_ ”

"Do you remember how our teacher told us about that career camp for third years at the beginning of the year? Well, the official brochures came into the office today, so I stopped by after practice to pick up some copies for us." Sora was practically vibrating with energy. "Koushiro and I thought it would be an interesting and productive way of spending our summer break."

Yamato flipped through the brochure. The camp took place over the course of two weeks during summer break and offered classes students could attend to explore the disciplines they were planning on pursuing for their university focus. He scanned the list of said classes and was intrigued to see the camp offered a full orchestra opportunity. Considering the fees of the camp and comparing them to the cost of standard lessons, it really was reasonably priced…

"I don't know, Sora," Taichi was saying. "'Career camp'? Do we really need to go through that? It doesn't sound like a fun way to spend the summer if you ask me. Besides, I already told Daisuke and Ken I'd help coach them on their football this summer. I can't ditch them."

"You coach them all the time anyway," Sora countered. "I'm sure they'd be fine if you left them on their own for two weeks. Anyway, this is important. This could really help you figure out what you want to do when you go to college. And I don't just mean you - I mean all of us."

Taichi looked incredulous. "What are you talking about? I'm going to be doing football, Yamato’s going to go off and keep being a musician. We all know Koushiro is going to be an engineer. You’re good enough to go pro with tennis - ”

“I’m really not,” Sora demurred.

“You _are_.” He shrugged. “It sounds like it could end up being a waste of time."

Yamato hummed. "Doesn’t sound like a waste to me. It's good to have back-up plans for our futures, in case things don’t work out. Besides, even if you’re dead set on football, there are lots of different classes at the camp and we could learn some useful stuff. Plus, it's pretty cheap. What's the worst that could happen?"

"We get sucked into another dimension to save the world – again?" Taichi deadpanned, though the effect was somewhat ruined by his waggling eyebrows.

Yamato laughed.

Though Sora also laughed, she shook her head afterward and affected a stern expression. "Back on topic, please. Koushiro already told me he would go if we did.”

"I thought he was going to be taking summer university courses with Jyou." Taichi frowned.

"I think his classes are mostly online. Knowing Koushiro, he'll probably take his classes while he's at camp.” Sora smiled wryly.

"Well, I'm in." Yamato set the brochure down. "I don't think my dad would mind fending for himself if I went, since I have enough saved up to pay for it on my own. I’m pretty curious about that full orchestra class."

"What, you too?" Taichi's brows knit together. "But why would you need to take lessons? You already have a label for your band."

Yamato leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms out above his head. "But I've never had formal training before. I'll be learning something new. Besides, I’ve always wanted to try out being in a full orchestra. This is a good chance to give it a shot."

Sora smiled. "I thought you'd like it," she murmured.

Their gazes locked. But then she ducked her head, flushing slightly. Clearing his throat, Yamato directed to Taichi, "It wouldn't hurt to at least check it out. Who knows, maybe you'll find something besides the Digital World and football to interest you."

Taichi made a face. "Okay. Say we’re gonna go. What classes are you going to take, Sora?" he asked.

"They have an option for people who are still undecided." Sora ran a hand through her short auburn hair, brushing it behind her ear. "I'll get to try different classes the first few days to see if there's anything that sparks my interest. When I find a class I like, I'll join it officially and stay there for the rest of camp. That's one of the reasons why I really want to go."

Yamato rested his elbows on the table. "Why else do you want to go?"

"Well, I thought… it would be nice if the four of us could do summer camp again." She toyed with her napkin. "Remember, it was at summer camp where we all got our Digivices and went to the Digital World. It’s been six years.” She smiled. “It’d be fitting to go back to camp one last time before we go to university, even if we can’t have everyone else come with us."

Taichi and Yamato exchanged a look. Taichi conceded, "I didn't think of it that way before."

"You don't usually think at all, I'm used to it," Sora teased. She then continued more earnestly, "So you'll come, Taichi? Or at least think about it? It won't be the same without you."

"I don't think I have a choice, do I? I guess I'll go." Taichi sighed. "You guys are right, it wouldn't hurt to make a backup plan if football doesn’t pan out. My parents would be okay with it, probably say something about me making a responsible, mature decision." He groaned theatrically. "Who would have thought the day would come?"

"Obviously not you," Yamato replied dryly. The familiar squeak of the apartment door as it swung echoed then, and he cocked his head. “ _To-chan?_ ”

"Your friends are still here?" Ishida Hiroaki called back.

"Yeah – Taichi and Sora came for dinner."

"Ahh." Hiroaki appeared and smiled tiredly when Yamato’s friends both got to their feet. "Taichi, Sora. Haven't seen either of you here in a while. How've you kids been?" If his father was surprised to see Sora in the kitchen, he hid it well.

"I've been good, thank you _Ishida-san_ ," Sora said, politely bowing.

Taichi bowed and then, familiar with Hiroaki's lax attitude toward formalities, patted his stomach. "I'm much better now since Yamato's fed me."

"Well, that's a relief. You know we've been worrying about you not eating enough," said Hiroaki wryly, making the three teenagers laugh. "You both should come around more often, Yamato only cooks good food when we have guests over."

“ _To-chan_ ,” Yamato protested.

“It’s true.”

Sora said, "We'll definitely come back for a visit soon."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me twice!" Taichi grinned brightly.

Yamato rolled his eyes. "Thanks for volunteering my service, Dad. Oh, I already have your dinner ready. Do you want to eat now?"

"I'm going to wash up first, so leave it there for me. Will you two be staying long?" said Hiroaki to their guests. "It's getting late. I don't want your parents to worry."

"We were about to get ready to leave,” Sora promised. “Thank you for letting us come over.”

The three busied themselves with cleaning up their meal after Hiroaki left. After he walked them to the door, Yamato offered, "Do you want me to walk you guys to the bus?"

"We don’t even live far away." Taichi waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, I'm man enough to protect Sora, don’t worry."

Sora scoffed. "As if! If we got mugged, you'd run away before you'd stay to fight. You're a useless bodyguard."

"Haha, right, as if you wouldn’t run away too!"

Yamato grinned. "Well, text me when you guys get home. I want to know you’ve made it safely."

"Yeah, yeah, we will. See you tomorrow at school." Taichi slung on his backpack and clapped his hand on Yamato’s shoulder before stepping outside.

Sora slid her feet into her shoes and picked up her tennis bag. She smiled. "Dinner was delicious, Yamato. Thank you."

Yamato couldn’t help but smile back. “Anytime.”

\----

He waited until they were in the elevator before he spoke. “So.”

Sora looked straight ahead. “What?”

Taichi smirked “You and Yamato seemed friendly tonight.”

“Because we’re friends.” She gave him a pointed look.

He knew her well enough to hear the defensive edge in her voice, and it only made his smirk grow wider. “You know what I think?”

“I don’t really want to know - “

“I think you’re starting to miss being in a relationship with him.”

“Taichi - ”

“Don’t worry!” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “I think he’s starting to miss being in a relationship with you, too. I’m giving it until the end of summer before you guys get back together. _Tops_. Trust me, I’m good at predicting these kinds of things.”

She sighed with equal parts exasperation and affection. “Stupid Taichi,” she said fondly and shook her head. “You’re unbelievable.”

Taichi grinned and nodded to himself. It was only a matter of time before his best friends saw the light and got back together. He could feel it.

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally published on Fanfiction.net under my username tripleT.Vo in 2008 - a fandom lifetime ago! I felt it was time to give the story some much-needed edits and polish, so I'm doing a slow chapter by chapter upload here on AO3.
> 
> You can also find me on Tumblr @triplet-vo


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